


Trivia Time

by SilverSupa



Category: Little Witch Academia
Genre: F/F, Fluff and Humor, How Do I Tag, Pre-Relationship, trivia questions of dubious plot relevance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-28
Updated: 2018-12-28
Packaged: 2019-09-29 02:01:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,225
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17194400
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilverSupa/pseuds/SilverSupa
Summary: In which Diana, Akko, and Ursula play a Shiny Chariot Trivia Game, Diana and Akko are rivals, and Diana is definitely, 100% NOT a Shiny Chariot fangirl, no matter how many questions she gets right.





	Trivia Time

Of _all_ things for Diana to be doing on a day like today, playing a Shiny Chariot Trivia game with the former Shiny Chariot _and_ her own self-proclaimed rival was not exactly up there on her list.

It likely happened because today, neither Diana nor Ursula had much better to do. It was pretty rare for Luna Nova to be snowed in. The academy’s Weather Ball usually kept the temperature of the grounds even, but ever since the Grand Triskellion had been opened, the excess of magic caused the Weather Ball had been glitching out left and right. Ultimately, this led to about a quarter-meter of snow burying the campus that _none_ of them were prepared for.

They had a rare day off, but Diana didn’t really have any plans for it, beyond seeing if any of the professors needed help with anything. Failing that, studying. She liked to keep busy, even when she didn’t have to. But in the back of her mind, she was almost _waiting_ for a certain overly excitable witch to spring some silly scheme.

And inevitably, she was proven right when Akko cornered her and Professor Ursula in the hallway, with a board game in her hands and a bright, worrisome smile on her face.

Ursula could only stare at the drawing on the front of the game’s case.

“They…made a trivia game about me?”

Akko nodded, enthusiastically and utterly failing to read the confusion stitched across both of their faces. “Isn’t it cool? I found it at some weird thrift store in town the other day when I was shopping for stuff! You remember making this, don’t you Professor?”

“I don’t even remember signing off on it…” Ursula admitted, scratching her cheek. “The only merchandise I actually _remember_ are the trading cards and the posters. Everything else is a bit of a blank.”

“So it’s kinda like a surprise for you too!” Akko lit up. “Oh my gosh, when I was looking through stuff and I saw this tucked in the back corner, I totally freaked out! I mean, people looked and everything. But I knew I just _had_ to get it and show you guys!”

The slightest hint of smile snuck its way onto Diana’s lips. It _did_ seem quite like Akko to impulse-buy something for herself so close to the holidays. Not that she meant that in a _bad_ way. Diana struggled to understand Akko for so long, so there was something pleasantly charming about being able to predict little nuances in her behavior.

“Well, it _is_ a pretty nice find.” Ursula said, gazing closer at the boxart. “And oh, look how nice they drew Alcor on this. He looks so skinny…”

Of course, Diana didn’t need to know Akko’s whole psychological profile to guess what she had come here to ask her and Ursula. And she didn’t actually speak up until she could think of something to say to get out of it.

“Yes, I’d have to agree with Professor Ursula.” Diana planted a hand on her hip. “It seems like quite the rarity. Are you two planning to play together, then? I’m sure it must be entertaining. You two will have a nice time together.”

Akko laughed. “Don’t worry, Diana, I’m not leaving you out! The box says you need at least three people to play this game, and you guys were the first people I thought of!”

Of course she did.

“…I see.”

Diana didn’t grimace, because she was above that. But she _really_ wasn’t one for board games. And Akko and Ursula enjoyed each other’s company well enough, and Diana would hate to bring them down by being a surly player.

Besides that, when was the last time she even _played_ a board game?

Really, who was she going to play board game with these days, Aunt Daryl? Please.

“Oh, that _does_ sound like fun!” Ursula clapped her hands together. “If you two don’t mind playing with me, I’d be happy to join you!”

“…is it not a trifle unfair for you to compete, Professor?” Diana asked. “These are trivia questions about your career, after all.”

From Akko’s face, she had not actually considered that point. But Ursula lightly giggled, and waved away those concerns.

“Don’t worry, I’ll play fair!” Ursula smiled. “As a professor, it would be pretty irresponsible of me if I didn’t take it easy on my students when they ask me to play with them, so I’ll give you two a chance to answer everything on your own before I jump in.”

“I…see.” Diana said. “Well, I hardly know that much about Shiny Chariot, so I’m afraid I’ll have to sit this one out. But thank you for the offer.”

Akko, however, was having none of that. “Aw, come on, Diana! You went to the show same as me! Everyone here knows you like Shiny Chariot, and no one’s mad about it! You don’t have to be so embarrassed.”

“I’m not embarrassed. I simply believe there’s other students here who are bound to be a better match for a game like this. Why don’t you ask Lotte and Sucy? I’m sure by now, _they’ve_ learned enough to make for a few…good rounds.”

“But I wanna play with you two!” Akko insisted. “I mean, who could be more fun to play with than a fellow Chariot fangirl and the actual Chariot herself!”

“I’m _not_ a fangirl.”

That was the biggest problem with snow days. Diana couldn’t just say she was busy and be done with it. Not that she _wanted_ to disappoint Akko, of course not. But still. She turned evenly on her heels and began walking away as though she _did_ have something she needed to attend to.

“In any case,” Diana said, “Thank you again, for the offer. I appreciate you including me, and it’s very kind. But I simply don’t believe I’d be an appropriate fit for something like this.”

And as Diana walked, she admittedly felt a little guilty. She and Akko had grown close since the Noir Missile Crisis, but it was still pretty rare for her to reach out like this. She almost (almost) felt like she was squandering an opportunity to understand Akko a little better.

But Akko, however, was not very disappointed at all. “Okay, Diana. I guess you’re right. You _wouldn’t_ be a good fit.”

Diana stopped in her tracks, and turned around to be met with an impish smile plastered on her face.

“…And what that supposed to mean, Akko?”

“Oh, nothing!” Akko assured her. “Totally nothing! I mean, I’m just agreeing with you, that’s all. You’re probably right that you wouldn’t have a good time playing this with me and Ursula.”

She outright _winked_ at Diana, a saucy little action that made Diana’s brows raise.

“I mean _obviously_ there’s no way you could beat me, so...”

Diana’s eyes narrowed into slits.

**~~TT~~**

Diana listened _very_ attentively as Professor Ursula read the rules pamphlet aloud. The objective of the Shiny Chariot Trivia Game was simple; Players each took turns answering trivia questions, and whoever had the most amount of points wins by the time the game was over, wins.

The harder the question, the more points it gave, but if you got it wrong, you essentially wasted a turn. And just to make it more complicated, if one player could answer the question before the other, they could steal all their points for themselves.

Akko set the board down on the floor, and patted the ground next to her. Silently, Diana straightened out her skirt and sat down on the carpet next to her. It seemed a bit silly not to play this on a table of some sort, but she wondered if perhaps the Japanese witch was simply more used to sitting on just a cushion than Diana.

But besides that, Akko’s expression brightened as Diana sat so close to her. Was she still being smug? It was hard to tell with her sometimes. Ursula had been watching the minute exchange from the other side of the board, and Diana couldn’t quite say why seeing the professor’s expression soften the way it did embarrassed her.

…She really had never been one for board games, which was the whole problem here.

They rolled to see who went first, only for Diana to roll a six right off the bat. Akko absolutely insisted on rolling anyway, because she was _sure_ she could match Diana and force a second roll, where _she_ got the bigger number.

Akko then rolled a one.

With the playing order decided, Diana’s turn began, and Akko drew a question card from the pile for her and Ursula to try and answer.

“Alright, so you can pick either an easy, medium or hard question.” Akko informed them. “Do you wanna do a hard one, Diana? I bet a real Shiny Chariot fan can answer something like this no problem!”

No, Diana did not fall for the same trick twice. “I’ll start off with an easy one, thank you.”

“Good luck, Diana!” Ursula cheered her student on. “Let’s both do our best, okay?”

Akko read off the card. “Which of these spells did Shiny Chariot _not_ perform at her show in Viannasburg; Light Manipulation Magic, Plant Magic, Fire Magic, Transformation Magic?”

Ursula frowned. “Wait…Viannasburg? Did I do a show in-?”

“Plant magic.” Diana said, without much thought.

“Yeah, that’s right.” Akko shrugged, tossing the card into the discard pile. “3 points for Diana.”

Ursula’s mouth fell open. “…Ahh. Um.” She rubbed the back of her neck. “Of course! I guess that makes sense. I don’t do plant magic very often, do I? It’s been longer than I thought since I…thought about the specifics of these shows. You know, a lot’s happened between then and now. Actually, it’s almost a little strange for me to think that I was-“

“Ursulaaa, it’s your turn.”

Akko was staring at her expectantly, clearly trying to be patient for her chance to finally get to play her game. And on the other side, Diana had already drawn a card, and was waiting for Ursula to pick.

“Oh!” Ursula’s cheeks almost matched her hair. “Um…okay? Give me another easy question, please!”

Diana read off the card this time. “At Shiny Chariot’s Centennial Show at the 2006 Post-Wild Hunt Biannual Festival, approximately how many of the fireworks launched at the preshow rally were shaped like hibiscus flowers?”

She might as well have been speaking Goblin for how well Ursula understood it.

“…w-wait…” Ursula squeaked. “Can you read the-?”

“Oh that’s so easy!” Akko laughed. “Seven! Am I right, Diana?”

“You _are_ correct.” Diana said. “Not bad.”

“Wait, what?” Ursula frowned once more. “Are…are you sure you read the _easy_ question? That…that seemed a little…?”

Akko marked her points down with a self-assured little snicker. It was almost charming, how confident she was. But only almost, because if Diana was going to be here, she absolutely intended to win.

“Why don’t you pick a hard question this time, Akko? Just so we can see what they’re like.”

“Ah _ha!_ You don’t think I can do it, can you?”

“You said it, not me.”

“Hey! I’m the biggest Shiny Chariot fan there is! I can win this game _easy!_ ” Akko turned her attention to their professor. “Ursula, give me the hardest question they got!”

The professor, who had been trying to judge the accuracy of these questions compared to what she actually remembered of her career, abruptly jumped and grabbed a card.

“The…ones with the red circle are the…?”

“The hard questions, yeah! Gimme that one!”

“Okay, um…True or false;” Ursula read off, “The musical theme accompanying the appearance of the dragon at Shiny Chariot’s later performances was internally known by the composers by the name of _Crossing Roads_ …how is anyone supposed to know-?”

“True!”

“H-how do _you_ know any of-?!”

**~~TT~~**

As the game went on, Diana did her best not to take notice of the fact that Akko seemed to maintain a point lead over her, even if it was a pretty small one. But she was Diana Cavendish; she hadn’t let Akko sucker her into this petty little rivalry she invented during the last school year, and she wasn’t going to give in now. She was _not_ so petty.

…But still, if she _hadn’t_ picked the easy question the first round, she absolutely would’ve been beating Akko, she was sure of it. Their scores were _almost_ tied. So she kept picking the hard questions, because purely from a tactical standpoint, it was the smartest decision.

And that was the only reason.

“-False.” Diana answered to the next question. “And for the bonus points, it’s explicitly a cobalt blue, not aquamarine.”

“That… _is_ right?” Ursula said, double-checking the answer on the card. “Are…are we sure this game is accurate? Because…?”

But before Ursula could finish her thought, Akko cut in when she noticed Diana tallying up their new score totals.

“Wait a second, how are you beating me now?!” Akko cried. “I was winning the whole time, when did you catch up?!”

“You _did_ ask me to play,” Diana pointed out, not bothering to hide her satisfaction.

“…Just you wait, I can still win this! Don’t think you’re better than me just yet!”

“Perish the thought.”

Akko grumbled, then leaned to the side to deliberately bump shoulders with her. “You might be a Shiny Chariot fangirl, but I’m still a total expert, so I’ll _definitely_ win this, I swear…”

“I…” Diana turned and squinted at her. “I am _not_ a fangirl.”

Akko smirked. “There you go again. Don’t tend you don’t still love Shiny Chariot. You came here to go to the same school as her, just like me!”

Diana stiffened. She felt her face begin to grow warm, and she slowly mustered the strength to look over at Ursula on the other side of the board. The professor was looking at her very curiously.

“I knew Akko came here because she was inspired by me, but…you too, Diana?”

“Well…” Diana bit her lip. “I was always going to study witchcraft, I just…never quite had a specific means of studying planned out, and…I suppose after seeing your show, I…may have been…somewhat influenced.”

Ursula touched her heart. And now Diana’s face was _really_ turning pink.

“It’s not as though I blindly picked this academy based off that alone.” Diana insisted. “I did research ahead of time. Luna Nova is very prestigious, and in the past,  it’s received very high praise, so…obviously it seemed like a nice place to study and- Akko, stop smirking at me!”

“I’m not saying anything!”

Diana huffed, and hung her head in such a way that her hair fell over her face.

“R-really, it’s okay Diana!” Ursula cut in. “I’m honored that you’d even consider me when you picked this academy! It’s really an honor! Don’t feel bad!”

She wasn’t a Shiny Chariot fangirl.

Honestly, she really wasn’t. She didn’t deny that Chariot meant a lot to her. It was her shows that first introduced Diana to the idea that magic could have beauty beyond just its function. The idea that there was something wonderful, unpredictable, and outright uncontrollable about magic that _made_ it so beautiful. Despite being the daughter of the House of Cavendish, it was Chariot’s sentiment that lived behind Diana’s respect for witchcraft.

But only subtly, for most of her life. Because it was not Shiny Chariot who solidified that idea in Diana’s head. No, only a few years after attending that show, that lesson slipped from Diana’s head, and she convinced herself if she was not being productive with her magic, then she was therefore wasting her talents and disrespecting her bloodline.

Akko leaned over, and whispered to Diana under her breath. “Did…I really say something wrong?”

“You didn’t have to tell her that…” Diana whispered back.

“It’s _Ursula_ , she’s not gonna be mean about it.”

“I’m not worried about that. But it’s childish.”

“So? You made that decision when you were a child, right?”

Diana fell silent. She didn’t really have a response prepared for that. But Akko mistook her silence as something much worse.

“…I’m sorry, Diana.”

“No, don’t be.”

“But I didn’t mean to-”

“Really, it’s fine. I’m not upset.” She glanced across her shoulder and smiled softly. “Perhaps we should focus more on the game now.”

Relief flashed across Akko’s face, and she dived right back into her competitive attitude as she faced the board.

So Diana had a complex, and she legitimately _knew_ that. But she also had lived with that complex for a good ten years, and she couldn’t help but be a creature of habit. Breaking through all those years of that mindset took something extraordinary.

**~~TT~~**

“Here’s the hard question.” Akko said, reading off the card. “In the limited edition television pilot, _The Animated Adventures of Shiny Chariot & Alcor_, what was Alcor’s catchphrase?”

Diana remembered hearing about that when she was 13 or so. She, as a powerful woman with plenty of self-respect and restraint, waited a week before she started digging around to see if any copies of the video even existed still.

“Let’s see…” Diana mumbled, feigning ignorance for the sake of her fragile dignity. “Could it be something like…This is for the birds?”

Akko glanced down at the card, and sighed. “Yeah, it was. Darn it, how do you keep guessing right?”

“…Oh, _I_ remember that cartoon.” Ursula suddenly grimaced. “Croix and I watched it one evening. She thought it was so funny. I thought I was gonna die when I heard the voices they picked for me and Alcor…”

“Aw, it was _good!_ ” Akko cried. “I liked it! I had it favorited on WitchTube before I could even _speak_ English all the way!”

“It was just so _cheesy_. You know, getting that thing cancelled was almost worth going into hiding. I never would’ve lived that down. For the birds…what an awful idea.”

Diana nodded. “They definitely picked the most grating voice they could have for him.”

Akko glanced over to her, wide eyed. “Wait, you _have_ seen it?”

“…Only the one time.”

“I can’t believe you never told me you’ve seen it! Here, hold on, I can pull it up on my ph-“

“ _No_.”

There were no phones allowed in Luna Nova anyway. Yes, _that_ was the reason she wasn’t allowed to play the video.

“You’re not very enthusiastic for a Chariot fan…”

“I am _not_ a fangirl.”

“I said _fan!_ I can say fan, right? That’s different!”

“Alright, yes. I will admit, I was a fan.”

Akko looked at her flatly.

Diana crossed her arms and looked away. “…And I may still have a certain appreciation for her now that I have matured.”

Akko snorted, which Diana found to be a tad rude. She resolved that Akko wouldn’t be so presumptuous when Diana beat her at her own game.

“Yeah, well…” Akko elbowed her. “I’m still beating you.”

“Mm. For now.”

Akko let out a toothy grin at that, and Diana couldn’t help but return the expression. It was the oddest thing, really. None of this was as awkward as she had thought. She was honestly having just a little bit of fun.

She supposed Akko just liked to see her react, to drop the stoic, Cavendish demeanor and just be _Diana_ for a while. And as for Diana, she just liked the idea of them having a private game between the two of them. It made her feel closer, like she could share something special.

And as for Ursula…

Well, the professor was doing an _amazing_ job taking it easy on the two of them. It really spoke to her character, how far she went to do good and be an example for her young students. She was letting them answer all the questions first, probably because she knew how excited Akko had been to play, and didn’t want to ruin that by stomping all over her fun.

Diana wasn’t sure why she asked the question, if she was honest with herself.

“Professor, may I ask you a personal question?”

“Oh, go ahead, Diana!”

“If you don’t mind me asking, do you ever think about those days? What your life might be like if you never gave up being Shiny Chariot?”

Ursula closed her eyes and leaned back thoughtfully. The impression Diana got was not that she needed to think about what her answer was, so much as she did need to think how to properly phrase a sentiment that had always been there.

“…I do think about it. I made a lot of mistakes, back when I went by Chariot. For a while, Ursula Callistis was just a way of hiding from those. But…I do love my job here, and all the students I get to work with. And now that the secret’s out, and Croix’s getting the help she always needed…I think I’m happier as Ursula anyway. It’s not the life Chariot might’ve imagined…but I think I’m much happier now.”

Diana slowly nodded.

She wasn’t sure why the answer felt helpful, but…it gave her some thoughts to chew on. Perhaps, that was all she really wanted.

“Oh…fishsticks.” Ursula grumbled, which was about the harshest swear word she was allowed to say. “That was a bit of a downer note, wasn’t it? I shouldn’t be bringing down your good time! I’m so sorry!”

“Aw, it’s okay, Ursula!” Akko assured her. “Don’t worry about it!”

“See, that’s the advantage of being a professor. I get to spend time with wonderful people like the two of you!”

She playfully ruffled Akko’s hair, and Akko just beamed like a ray of sunshine. Diana couldn’t help but to shake her head.

It was no secret that Ursula and Akko were far closer than just teacher/student. It was pretty unlikely that Finnelan and Holbrooke were letting her have the day off just because the students were, but in spite of that, she always made time for her favorite student.

And she tried to include Diana in that too. She truly did admire that open and unabashedly tender kindness from Ursula. Despite being just her professor, Ursula tended to act almost…

…Diana couldn’t quite bring herself to think the word. But the sentiment was there, nonetheless.

“Oh, it’s _my_ turn to ask a question, anyway!” Akko sat up. “Which hand did Shiny Chariot favor using her Shiny Rod with more; left or right?”

“Oh, well, I’m left-handed of course!”

“Nope, the answer is right. Sorry, Ursula!”

“W-wait…” Ursula looked at her hands, desperately trying to recall how she used to hold things over a decade ago. “Did I…? But…”

“Oh geez, Ursula! You’re really falling behind! You gotta start picking hard questions, or there’s no _way_ you’re gonna catch up to me and Diana!”

“But that’s not…it…I’m left-handed, aren’t I…?”

**~~TT~~**

It took another twenty minutes or so, but they finally reached the end of the game and ran out of questions to ask, which left only one step left; to tally their final scores.  

Akko: 147 points

Diana: 146 points

Ursula: 12 points

Statistically, Diana knew they had both had enough missteps that her picking an easy question to start with was _not_ the reason for the one point difference. In fact, mathematically that didn’t even add up. But still, she should’ve picked hard.

Akko looked at their scores with disbelief in her eyes. “I…I don’t believe it…!”

“M-me either.” Ursula agreed. “Are we sure this game is accurate? I couldn’t have forgotten _this_ much…”

“Ha _!_ ” Akko leapt to her feet, and she whooped and hollered and cheered. “I can’t believe it! I won! _Finally,_ I beat you in something, Diana!”

“So modest.” Diana teased. “Very well. I suppose I must concede you _are_ better than me at remembering frivolous details.”

“What’s that, rival?” Akko placed her hand to her hear. “You admit defeat and that I’m totally better than you at this game?”

“Yes, _that’s_ what I said.”

Ursula’s eyes danced between the two of them, and then back down at the large pile of discarded cards. She frowned deeply. “But…I’m not…left handed…” She despaired.

Akko fell back to her knees, smiling so enormously Diana had to wonder how her cheeks could even hold it.

“This was so _fun!_ See, Diana? I _told_ you you’d have a good time, didn’t I?”

“Hm. I don’t recall.”

“Stop kidding around! Yes, you do!”

“No, no, I’m afraid I’m just not as good as you at remembering frivolous details.”

“Oh, c’mon! Just lemme have this! I see you smiling! You had a fun time too, don’t lie!”

Akko was leaning inward to try and get her to admit it, unintentionally pressing their shoulders together. It was…closer than Diana would usually allow people to be. She had to wonder once more if Akko really was just like this, or if it took effort to be so relentlessly cheerful 24/7.

“…It was not unpleasant.” Diana admitted. “It’s been a while since I played a game like this.”

“So…even though I’m undeniably better than you, can we still be Chariot Fan Besties?”

Diana rolled her eyes.

“Erm…” Ursula slowly came back to her senses. “L-let’s not tease her anymore, okay Akko? I know it’s all in good spirits, but-“

“It’s really no problem, Professor.” Diana said.

“Oh, Diana!” Akko excitedly turned to her. “Wait, is it okay if I show her the card? Please? I’ve _never_ shown it to her!”

Diana blinked. “The…card?”

“Yeah, you know…!”

Diana said nothing, but since she wasn’t objecting, Akko slowly reached into her pocket and pulled out the special premium card that Diana had given her, that fateful night long ago. Since then, it had been placed in a protective, transparent sleeve. Not even blemished by fingerprints. Diana’s eyes widened as she stared at it, watching Akko hold it up for Ursula to see.

“See? She even had the special, super rare _premium_ card that even I couldn’t get! I couldn’t have ever completed my collection without her help, so that’s why I wanna get her to admit she’s a fan!”

Ursula seemed a mixture of honored and embarrassed by the thought, and didn’t say anything. But Diana found herself similarly at a loss, looking at once had been her prized possession before she had given it away.

“You…carry that with you?”

Diana’s voice was smaller than she expected.

Akko shook her head, and pulled the card close to her chest.

“Well…no. I’d be _really_ afraid of losing it. I mean I carry it with me whenever I leave for a while, but I usually leave it in a safe spot. I mean, I brought it today because I wanted to play this game with you, and…”

Akko faltered under Diana’s unbreaking gaze, and she shyly rubbed at the back of her head.

“I mean…” Akko started. “It’s important to me, okay? I mean, it’s from _you_. And even though that day was…really bad, when you gave me this thing, it kinda helped me realize I wasn’t as alone as I thought it was. And…I got to know the real you, so…I think it was okay, in the end. So I thought it’d be…okay to bring?”

She shrugged her shoulders, and chewed with her lip with a tenderness that seemed so rare to grace her features. Diana found herself turning away again, though this kind of embarrassment felt _much_ different than the one she had experienced earlier.

“I…I see…”

Obviously, she would’ve kept it. And of course that was the sentiment that Diana meant behind giving it to her in the first place, so really it was…silly to react like this, wasn’t it? But…to think it still meant that much to her…something about that made her heart beat a little faster.

…She was wrong, about what she thought earlier. She didn’t understand Akko at _all_. Nothing but a troublesome rival.

**~~TT~~**

Cleanup was a rather silent affair then. Ursula spent a significant amount of it just staring at the boxart, and specifically the way her caricature was drawn holding the Shiny Rod. But eventually all the cards and the board were put away, and the box was returned to Akko’s waiting arms.

And so, the two found themselves walking back. Diana kept her eyes forward, while Akko kept looking out the window, watching the snow fall from the sky.

“Hey…Diana? Thanks again, for playing this with me. I mean, I _really_ don’t think I could’ve convinced Lotte and Sucy to play _another_ Chariot game with me, so I’ve really been waiting, and…yeah. I’m glad I got to do this with you.”

“You know…” Diana started, causing Akko to turn and look at her. “I used to be a rather sore loser when I was a child.”

She wasn’t sure what prompted her to admit that.

Akko covered her mouth, hiding her delighted expression. “No way! _You_ did?”

“Whenever my Mother and I would play games, she always let me win. As Anna tells it, I did not handle losses very gracefully. For a while, I even remember wondering what the point of playing was if she was losing on purpose, but then I wouldn’t even _want_ to play if I lost.”

“Oh my gosh…!” Akko giggled. “I kinda wish I could’ve seen that!”

Diana let out a small noise, somewhere between a laugh and a hum. “Playing that was…a little nostalgic for me, honestly. It’s been a long time since I’ve been able to be open about how much I used to love these shows. Coming back is…comforting, in a way. Like an old friend.”

“Aww…So, that was back when you told me you put all your Chariot stuff away because you thought it was just for kids, right? Like what you told me in your mansion? So what makes you okay with talking about this stuff _now?_ ”

Diana stopped walking, and Akko, in turn, stopped to face her directly. There was that familiar intensity in those crimson eyes of hers. Diana could only smile, as she found herself almost faltering in the red sea within those eyes.

“You know…” Akko shrugged obliviously. “Just so I know when it’s okay to talk about this stuff in a way that doesn’t _actually_ embarrass you.”

Diana gently laid a hand on her shoulder. “Shiny Chariot may have initially shown me how beautiful magic could be, but it took something truly extraordinary to break through that shell and remind me.”

She almost couldn’t believe the words that had passed her lips, nor the meaning she had let slip from behind them. Slowly, the corners of Akko’s own lips turned upwards as she craned her neck back and gazed at Diana’s rosy features.

“…Like what?” Akko asked.

Diana lifted her hand away, and began walking decidedly in the other direction.

“…You’re the trivia master. I’m sure you can figure out the answer.”

“Wait, like what?” Akko called out after her. “Diana, what does that mean? Are you making fun of me?! You can’t just say stuff and not explain it! Dianaaa!”

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry for this Secret Santa being so late! I hope it's okay!


End file.
